1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to text string display and entry controls in data processing systems and in particular to providing backwards compatibility for legacy controls to display the contents of a multi-field text string class without implementing specialized display controls. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to providing backwards compatibility for a legacy control to both display and change or enter contents of a multi-field text string class.
2. Description of the Related Art
Multinational companies often run information system (IS) networks which span multiple locales spread around the globe. To maximize the usefulness of such networks, operations within each country tend to run in the local language of the country. Where possible, names of abstract objects in user applications are in the local language and match the local language organization, city, or human names which the abstract objects represent. In the case of system management software, often abstract objects would represent each of a global enterprise""s local offices.
Central management of such a global network may be difficult or impossible when abstract object names utilize the local language and the local language""s underlying character set. For offices located in Egypt, abstract objects would most naturally be named in Arabic; offices in Russia would name objects utilizing the Cyrillic character set; and for offices in Japan, objects would be named in Japanese. A problem arises, however, when a enterprise""s headquarters IS staff attempts to examine these objects. The IS staff at the multinational headquarters located in the United States is unlikely to be able to read Arabic or Japanese, or even recognize Cyrillic characters.
Japanese, for example, is a logosyllabic or ideographic language which does not have an alphabet representing simple sounds, but instead has a very large character set with symbols (xe2x80x9cideographsxe2x80x9d) corresponding to concepts and objects rather than simple sounds. For instance, the Joyo Kanji List (Kanji for Daily Use) adopted for the Japanese language in 1981 includes 1945 symbols. Users unfamiliar with the Kanji characters will have difficulty identifying a particular abstract object named in Japanese, as well as difficulty even discussing such abstract objects over the telephone with an English- and Japanese-speaking counterpart.
Additionally, merely seeing an ideograph may provide no clue as to the correct meaning or pronunciation since, in Japanese, the same character may have multiple meanings or pronunciations. For instance, the character depicted in FIG. 4A may mean either xe2x80x9cWestxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cSpainxe2x80x9d; the symbol depicted in FIG. 4B may be pronounced either xe2x80x9chayashixe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9crinxe2x80x9d (or xe2x80x9clinxe2x80x9d); and the characters depicted in FIG. 4C may be pronounced xe2x80x9csuga no,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9csuga ya,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9ckan no,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ckan ya.xe2x80x9d This circumstance is based in part on the history of the Japanese language, in which the Kanji characters were adopted from the Chinese language. Thus, for example, the xe2x80x9crinxe2x80x9d symbol depicted in FIG. 4B is On-Yomi, basically a simulation of the Chinese pronunciation when the character was imported to Japan, while xe2x80x9chayashixe2x80x9d is Kun-Yomi, a Japanese word assigned to the character which has the same meaning.
A multi-field text string class disclosed in the related applications may be employed to encapsulate identification, meaning, and pronunciation information for a text string within a single object. However, displaying the contents of such a multi-field text string class object would normally require implementation of specialized controls. Furthermore, even if legacy controls could display the contents of a multi-field text string class object, such legacy controls do not necessarily include an inherent mechanism for influencing groups of controls as a monolithic unit.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a mechanism for displaying the contents a multi-field text string class object without implementing specialized controls. It would further be advantageous for the mechanism to perform the processing required to change the contents of a multi-field text string class object in response to change requests from legacy controls, and also provided a means for influencing the behavior of multiple controls as a monolithic unit.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for text display and entry controls in data processing systems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for supporting backwards compatibility for legacy controls to display the contents of a multi-field text string class without implementing specialized display controls.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for supporting backwards compatibility for a legacy control to both display and change or enter contents of a multi-field text string class.
The foregoing objects are achieved as is now described. An interface to a multi-field text string object is provided to intercept display requests from a legacy control to the multi-field text string object. The interface passes contents of a current display field within the multi-field text string object to the legacy control in response to intercepted requests. The interface also intercepts change requests, such as Java setText( ) methods, from the legacy control to change the contents of the multi-field text string object. The intercepted change requests are redirected by the interface to a specialized change control, which implements methods for changing the contents of any field within the multi-field text string object. The specialized change control performs the change requested by the legacy display control on a current display field of the multi-field text string objects. The interface thus precludes the necessity of implementing specialized display control merely for displaying the contents of the multi-field text string object, permitting legacy controls to display the contents of a current display field. The interface may also be coupled to a grouping class allowing multiple controlsxe2x80x94either specialized or legacy controlsxe2x80x94to be influenced as one monolithic unit.
The above as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.